Young India wicketkeeper batter Dhruv Jurel recently recalled the incident when he was sledged by star England batter Joe Root. Notably, Jurel made his debut in the five-match Test series against England earlier this year. He scored a brilliant 46 on his debut in Rajkot but walked into a precarious situation in the very next Test in Ranchi.
India were reeling at 161/5 in reply to England’s score of 353 in the first innings when Jurel joined Sarfaraz Khan in the middle. The youngster scored an unbeaten 30 and took India to stumps on 219/7 along with Kuldeep Yadav. Recalling the incident, Jurel revealed that he couldn’t sleep overnight and faced James Anderson first up the next morning who was firing his verbal volleys at him.
“I could not sleep that night. I was not out on 30. I was making plans for the next day, thinking whether I should try to get the half-century with the old ball, because a few overs were still left, or against the new ball. But eventually I managed to get around 36 before they took the new ball and Anderson returned,” Jurel told Jatin Sapru on his YouTube channel.
I was shocked because Root used to play with me in IPL: Jurel
Further speaking ahead, he also mentioned how Joe Root sledged him despite them playing together for Rajasthan in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
“He was all aggressive by then and was continuously sledging. Given the British accent, I did not understand half of those words. Even Bairstow and Joe Root joined. I was shocked because Root used to play with me in IPL, and I asked him, ‘Why are you sledging me?’ He replied: ‘We are all playing for our country now,’” he added.
Jurel went on to play a heroic innings of 90 (149) with the help of six fours and two sixes and took India’s score past 300. He further scored another 39* in the second innings to help his team chase down 192 stitching a crucial 62-run stand with Sarfaraz Khan for the fifth wicket. As a result, India won the match by five wickets and Jurel was adjudged Player of the Match.